Reproductive performance and genetic parameters for Australian Dorset Sheep

Abstract

Reproductive performance of ewes in a large Dorset stud flock is reported. The data included 2488 ewes with 10016 joining records over 25 years. Average performance for reproductive traits were: fertility 92%, litter size 1.31, neonatal lamb survival 91%, lamb survival to weaning 85%, with overall lambs born 1.20 and lambs weaned 1.02 per ewe joined. Differences between breeds (Poll Dorset and Dorset Horn), season of birth (spring and autumn) and season of joining (spring and autumn) were significant for most reproduction traits. Linear and quadratic regressions for age of ewe at joining were highly significant for all traits (P < 0.001) with maximum performance between three and six years of age. Estimates of heritability for ewe reproductive traits were: 0.062 � 0-02 for number of lambs born and 0.04 � 0.01 for number of lambs weaned per ewe joined, and component traits, 0.02 �0 -01 for fertility, 0 08 � 0 -02 for litter size and 0.00 � 0.01 for lamb survival. Estimates of repeatability were less than 0.14 for all the reproduction traits, which resulted in substantially higher predicted heritabilities when repeated records were used. Heritability estimates for average ewe lifetime performance, with approximately four records, were 0.08 � 0 06 for lambs born, 0.12 � 0.05 for lambs weaned, 0.08 � 0.04 for fertility, 0.l9 � 0 -04 for litter size and zero for lamb survival. The genetic correlations between litter size and lambs born and weaned were close to unity, whereas those for fertility were lower and declined from lambs born (0.6l � 0.22) to lambs weaned (0-45 � 0.30). The estimated heritability for ewe longevity, defined as the number of years the ewe remained in the breeding flock, was 0.00 � 0.03. The potential for genetic improvement in reproductive rate is discussed in relation to other reports in the literature and in the context of the roles of the Dorset breed in the Australian lamb industry. Increased reproductive rate in Dorset flocks impacts on stud profitability and the rate of genetic improvement from selection for other traits such as liveweight. The parameter estimates derived will be used in compiling breed-specific parameter sets for genetic evaluation in LAMBPLAN.